Stolen Time
by Bittersweet Revenge
Summary: After TOotP. Harry is totally depressed about Sirius' death and simply can't stand the fact that he lost the only family member he had left. He gets a Time-Turner and goes back to 1977, to be with his teenage godfather again . . . [HarrySirius]
1. Chapter 1

~Title: Stolen Time  
  
~Author: Bittersweet Revenge  
  
~Summary: Harry is totally depressed about Sirius' death, and simply can't stand the fact that he lost the only real family member he had left. He gets a Time-Turner and goes back to 1977, to be with his teenage godfather again . . . but Sirius in not the only family member Harry has in that time!  
  
~Rating: PG for now, might go up  
  
~Gender: Slash  
  
~Pairing: Harry/Sirius  
  
~Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Well, maybe the context of the story, but besides that, nothing. I'm almost entirely sure that similar fics don't exist, but you can't be too sure.  
  
~Extra: This is the third slash I start! I'm a beginner and advice is very appreciated! ^_^  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
Harry sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes, due to the fact that he had spent yet another night crying, mourning his beloved godfather. He still blamed himself, and it was slowly driving him mad. He kept dreaming of it, seeing Sirius fall through that veil over and over again, knowing that he hadn't stopped it from happening, knowing that he had been obstructive and powerless.  
  
"I shouldn't even have gone to the Ministry," he whispered in the dark, yet another time. "It's my fault he's gone . . . it's my fault . . ."  
  
Hedwig was out, most probably hunting small rodents, but Harry knew that she would come back before sunrise, as usual. He slid off his bed and walked to the window, opened it and let a cool summer breeze enter the room while he gazed at the hot shades of gold, red and orange that were starting to surmount the ocean of blue sky in the east, proving that another day was arriving. The street was still dark and the lampposts were still in use, but they would turn off any time now.  
  
Harry turned around and dragged himself to the chair in front of his desk. He sat down and sighed sadly. He was thinner than before, and much paler too. His eyes had even lost most of their greenness, but he didn't care at all. He had almost stopped eating, barely nibbling on what aunt Petunia served him and returning to his room before she served desert. He had heard her talking with uncle Vernon one night, suggesting that maybe they should bring him to a doctor, and it had made him smile, to see that she worried about him, even if it was just a little.  
  
His eyes gazed at an open letter left on the desk, there to make him remember that what was written on it should have made him feel happy, and yet now it didn't. It was Ron's letter, inviting him over to the Burrow for the rest of the summer holiday, but for the first time in his life, he did not want to leave number four Privet Drive. In fact, he wasn't even looking forward to his return to Hogwarts.  
  
He wanted to stay away from all of them, all those he loved. All he brought to them was pain, and eventually death. Because of Voldemort.  
  
He wanted to stay away from magic and the wizarding world, from the Dark Lord, from his problems and from his friends.  
  
"First it was Cedric, now Sirius," Harry croaked.  
  
Shinning tears started blurring his vision and he blinked several times, making them glide down his already humid cheeks. He didn't bother wiping them away, knowing that more would come. More always came.  
  
The sound of ruffled feathers alerted him that Hedwig was back and he turned to the window to see his owl flutter inside the room, holding the corpse of a mouse in her beak. She hopped on the desk and dropped the carcass in front of Harry before returning to her cage. He stared at it for a moment, knowing that this was the kind of present Hedwig gave him to cheer him up. Funny it didn't work.  
  
Harry sighed and pushed the little blood-spattered cadaver to the trash bin by using his potions manual. A few moments later, he heard the telephone ring downstairs.  
  
~Who the hell calls at five thirty in the morning?~ Harry thought, very annoyed for some reason.  
  
He heard movements down the hallway, form his aunt and uncle's room, and to the sound of it, it was his aunt that was scurrying to the kitchen to get the call. Harry's eyebrows rose. Usually, it was always uncle Vernon that got up when something happened.  
  
He walked to his door and opened it to follow the conversation.  
  
"Hello?" asked aunt Petunia. " . . . yes. It seems he's not . . . doing very well . . ."  
  
Harry frowned. She was talking about him, but to whom? The doctor? What kind of doctor calls at five thirty in the morning?  
  
"Yes . . . now?" aunt Petunia said, rather disturbed. "But . . . yes . . . no . . . all right."  
  
She hung up and Harry heard her walk back up the stairs after at least five minutes of undisturbed silence. She returned to her room and shut the door. Harry did the same and walked back to his bed, on which he sat.  
  
A few moments later, to his utter surprise, Dumbledore appeared right in front of him, wearing dark green wizard robes, holding up his wand and replacing his half-moon spectacles on his nose.  
  
"Good Morning, Harry," he said calmly.  
  
Harry stared at him wide-eyed, unable to say a word.  
  
"I hear from your aunt that you're not doing too well," he continued.  
  
"But . . . how? . . . euh, hello, professor," Harry mumbled.  
  
Dumbledore smiled.  
  
"Harry . . ." he said reproachfully. "Why? . . . Why are you doing this to yourself? Don't dwell on the past . . . Sirius died for a reason. He would have wanted it like that, you know it."  
  
"He shouldn't have died," Harry sobbed. "That I know for sure . . . Isn't there a potion, or a spell to bring him back? Anything?"  
  
"No, Harry, there isn't," Dumbledore said calmly. "Nothing can stop death. If we somehow stopped his death at that moment, he would have died another way. Its called fate. His time was up, that's all, Harry."  
  
Dumbledore stayed silent, watching Harry as more tears ran down his cheeks.  
  
"Harry . . . we've had this talk before," he said, maybe a bit sternly. "If you ever need to talk to me, use this."  
  
Harry received something that looked like a golden medallion. The Hogwarts crest was engraved on it.  
  
"It's not a portkey, but it works quite the same way," Dumbledore continued. "It will bring you right outside the Hogwarts grounds when you say the school's name and your own name . . . now you must excuse me, but I need to go back to Hogwarts. I believe Remus needs to talk to me."  
  
Before Harry could say anything else, Dumbledore disappeared again.  
  
Harry didn't move for a very long time, staring at the spot where Dumbledore had stood. Now he knew what he needed to do . . . he needed to stop crying for now, and take action. He was sure there was something he could do . . . to get Sirius back."  
  
He looked down at his clothes, seeing that they were rather in a pitiful state he jumped to his feet and rummaged through his already opened school trunk to pull out cleaner muggle clothes.  
  
He quickly changed into them. When he was finished, he could already hear his aunt preparing breakfast in the kitchen and his uncle getting out of bed to make his way to the bathroom.  
  
Smiling, Harry jumped out of his room, got to the bathroom before his uncle did, and nearly slammed the door on Vernon's nose.  
  
Turning on the light, he could hear uncle Vernon grumbling on the other side of the door. He looked at his reflection in the glass above the sink and thought that he was indeed in a pathetic state. He rubbed his tear- strained face with hot water until he thought his skin was going to peel off. At least, with cleaner clothes and a clean face, he didn't look like an itinerant anymore. He had stopped trying to flatten his hair, knowing that it was an impossible task and brushed his teeth before running out of the bathroom, almost making his uncle fall to the ground in the process.  
  
About fifteen minutes later, he was having a very big breakfast with the rest of his muggle relatives. They could only stare as he ate like four, never even glancing up at them.  
  
"Uncle Vernon," Harry said finally. "I was wondering if you could bring me to London on your way to work."  
  
His uncle stared at him, holding his cup of coffee an inch from his mouth. Instead of taking a sip as he had intended to do, he replaced the cup on the table.  
  
"And why is that?" he asked in a very unkindly way.  
  
"I need to go buy something," Harry asked. "Where my kind of people go shopping."  
  
Vernon's face turned a nice shade of crimson to that last statement. He knew he couldn't exactly refuse. He didn't want any wizards to come to his home to tell him he wasn't taking care of the boy . . . especially the one with the strange eye he had met at King's cross.  
  
"Fine," he said coldly.  
  
Less than an hour later, Harry was sitting in the front seat of uncle Vernon's car, watching the scenery that passed by. Vernon was completely ignoring him, listening to the news on the radio. Harry did the same; the only difference was that he was smiling.  
  
"Where do I drop you off?" uncle Vernon finally asked, seeing that they were almost down town.  
  
Harry bit his lower lip. He wasn't sure where the Leaky Cauldron actually was.  
  
"Near the Underground exit . . . in that direction," Harry said finally, pointing to a crowded street. He saw a few shops pass by and recognized a few from his first year, when Hagrid had brought him to Diagon Alley. He figured that he was on the good road.  
  
"Here!" Harry said after a while of silence, seeing that they had just passed the tiny pub known as The Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"There?" uncle Vernon repeated, looking at the shabby door leading to the inside of the tavern.  
  
"Yes," Harry said positively. "Thanks for the lift. I'll get back home alone. Bye."  
  
Uncle Vernon didn't like the sound of 'I'll get back home alone', knowing that it probably meant 'by my own way', thus using something magic, but he shook it out of his head and drove off once Harry had shut the car door.  
  
Harry walked to the door and opened it. He was now accustomed to the smoky air and the usual darkness always present in the pub, but it still surprised him to see the interior of the magical building. The inn was almost empty and he immediately made his way to the back, where he stared at the brick wall through which Diagon Alley could be found.  
  
Fortunately, Harry had thought of bringing his wand and he used it to tap the designated bricks to open the passage.  
  
He entered the alley, but instead of continuing straight in front of him, he turned to Knockturn Alley. He kept his head low, not wanting to be recognized, and entered the only shop he knew. Borgin and Bukes.  
  
No sound was head as he opened the door and entered the shop. In fact, Harry first though it was empty. He walked to the main counter and spotted a little bell. He pressed on it and a ringing sound was heard, echoing in the whole shop.  
  
Not even a second later, a man seeming to have jumped from under the counter appeared, making Harry leap backwards. That man was the exact opposite than what Harry could remember of Borgin. He was very, very tall, and had dark skin, giving him the look of a man that had just come back from a vacation to Cuba. His lips were so thin he didn't seem to have any at all. His nose was incredibly crooked, just like a beak and his eyes were extraordinarily huge. Huge grey eyes. He was bald and his ears were rather pointy and bat-like, a bit like a house-elf's. In fact, with his skinny arms, tennis ball eyes and ears, he looked slightly more like a house-elf than like a man.  
  
"Bukes, here to serve you, young sir," he said, smiling, his tiny lips stretching to an incredible extent.  
  
His long fingers grabbed the little bell and stored it away behind the counter. Harry stared at him as he bent down towards him, neatly folding his hands together, with that huge smile still plastered on his face.  
  
"Yes . . . I'm, euh . . . I was wondering if you could help me," Harry started, flattening his hair in order to hide his scar. "I'm looking for an object capable to bring people back in time, or something like that."  
  
Bukes blinked and rubbed his chin.  
  
"First of all, I must know how much you have to spend and what type of point in time you would like to go to . . . it would help to find the best object to use . . . but you do know time travelling is seen as illegal, young sir?"  
  
Harry hesitated, but answered positively.  
  
"I don't think money would be a problem and I would like to go many years back . . . about twenty, I guess."  
  
Bukes seemed very interested to know more but Harry gave him a look to let him know that he wasn't going to learn anything else.  
  
"I think I have a TimeTwister in my possession, but it's a dark arts object and costs a lot of money . . . I think I have the only one the Ministry of Magic didn't confiscate."  
  
He dived under the counter and came back up holding what looked like a sundial in which was inserted a magic calendar.  
  
"You see, this is a Time-Turner made for longer trips," Bukes explained. "You insert the date here, wait a few seconds and appear where you are, on the date on the calendar. It's called a TimeTwister because, supposedly, you're dizzy when you appear through time. It was fabricated by-"  
  
"How much?" Harry sighed impatiently.  
  
Bukes smiled and bent forwards. He whispered a price in Harry's ear, making the boy's eyes widen.  
  
"What?" Harry half yelled. "That's more than a fortune! I can't use all that!"  
  
Bukes didn't look very happy but started rubbing his chin again.  
  
"I do maybe have a Time-Turner, but the price is not much different," he said slowly. "Everything I have else is not strong enough to go years back."  
  
Harry wasn't happy at all. His eyes glided through the shelves, but nothing could help. His eyes froze on the fireplace.  
  
"Can I travel with Floo powder from here?" he asked.  
  
"That would be one galleon, young man," Bukes said, sounding a bit sad not to have sold anything better. "But are you sure about the TimeTwister? I could make you a ten percent discount."  
  
"No thanks," Harry said, pulling out a galleon from his pocket.  
  
Bukes took it and dived under the counter again, bringing a flowerpot back up. It was filled with floo powder.  
  
Harry took a hand full and walked to the fireplace. He stood inside it and threw the powder to the ground after having yelled his destination.  
  
"The Ministry of Magic," he had said clearly.  
  
~~~  
  
Harry appeared in the Ministry's main hall. A machine stopped him from walking forwards.  
  
"Please state your name and the tribute of your visit," the machine's feminine voice said.  
  
"Harry Potter here to see Arthur Weasley of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office," Harry stated.  
  
The machine handed out a badge with Harry's name under which was written 'visitor', just like when he had come for his hearing the previous summer.  
  
"Please have a wand inspection at the end of the Atrium before heading to the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office," the machine stated. "The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day."  
  
Harry knew the way already and so walked to the regulation stand behind which a man with a long grey beard was standing, reading a copy of The Quibbler.  
  
"Wand"? he asked, as Harry handed it.  
  
Harry watched as the man did the same thing the last on had done in Harry's last visit. In the end, the man read the roll of parchment out loud.  
  
"Eleven inches, phoenix-feather core, been in use for five years, yes?" the man asked.  
  
Harry nodded positively and saw the man impale the piece of parchment on a metal brass pike before handing his wand back to Harry.  
  
"Perkins!" the man yelled to someone behind Harry. "Take mister Potter to your Department. He's here to see Arthur."  
  
Harry turned around and saw the familiar little man come trotting forwards. Harry unconsciously frowned, knowing that his first plan was now going down the drain. He had wanted to somehow get to the Department of Mysteries, to try and find a Time-Turner there, but now, under Perkins' surveillance, he couldn't.  
  
Harry followed the little man to the lift and entered along with many other witches and wizards. He made the same travel he had done with Ron's father, until he reached The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.  
  
Arthur was behind his desk, inspecting the interior of a television screen with a magnifying glass when he entered.  
  
"Harry!" he yelled, arms wide open as he contoured his desk, once he had recognized the Boy Who Lived. "How wonderful to see you! What a surprise!"  
  
Harry was held in a tight bear-like hug and once he was finally let go, he was asked, in a very serious way, if he was all right.  
  
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," Harry said, remembering that he probably didn't look very healthy. "Just came to visit."  
  
"How nice!" Arthur exclaimed. "I was just inspecting this 'telyvisionic' set. Someone cursed it so that muggles that looked at it couldn't stop watching it. Terrible. Perkins just intervened and immediately sent it to me."  
  
Harry was about to say something when Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared in the doorway.  
  
"Sorry to bother you, Arthur, but it seems we found something you might want to take a look at," he said, after saluting Harry. "Very important . . . it looks like a muggle artefact, so you might tell us about it."  
  
Arthur said that he was on his way but froze when he saw Harry was there.  
  
"I'm sorry Harry but I need to go down to the Department of Mysteries," he said. "Do you mind accompanying me?"  
  
Harry smiled interiorly. It was his lucky day.  
  
"I'd love to come with you," he said.  
  
"Are you sure?" Arthur insisted. "Its just that I heard you weren't doing well since Sirius . . . well. Come with me, then."  
  
Harry palled a little at the mention of his godfather, but didn't say anything. He followed Arthur and Kingsley to the Department of Mysteries.  
  
~~~  
  
Harry was somewhat surprised to see that they didn't meet any twirling doors. In fact, all of the doors were gone and a single hallway left form the main door that Kingsley had opened with some kind of spell code.  
  
They walked in the hallway until they reached a large room in which were rows and rows of . . . magical objects. Harry grinned. He felt so lucky.  
  
A table was placed in front of the door, right where the rows of shelves separated. Old wizards were bent forward, wands out, poking what looked like a computer screen in which two wizards were locked up, banging on the monitor.  
  
"They got stuck inside when they touched the screen," one of the wizards told Arthur Weasley. "We need to get them out . . . I was told this was called a 'computor'. I think Griddysak bewitched it."  
  
"Hum . . . let me take a look," Arthur said, approaching with Kingsley.  
  
Harry knew he was now completely out of everyone's mind, and so discretely walked towards the first hallway. Once he was out of sight, he started running, looking at every object displayed on the shelves. He kept walking deeper and deeper into the room and saw that he was reaching a section reserved for the Dark Art objects. He would maybe find it there.  
  
Harry searched for what he thought was fifteen minutes, and he found what he was looking for.  
  
A TimeTwister.  
  
It was dusty, but looked exactly like the one Bukes had showed him. Harry grinned, thinking of his godfather.  
  
~I need to go back to a time where he doesn't remember me,~ he thought. ~I can't be seen by people that will remember me . . . and I can't appear here.~  
  
Harry frowned, that thought shattering his dreams. He couldn't be in the Ministry when appearing. People would ask questions. And he couldn't steal the TimeTwister. People would know.  
  
Harry's hand unconsciously slid in his pocket and he started playing with what was in it. His mind clicked.  
  
The medallion Dumbledore had gave him! It everything fit so perfectly it almost scared Harry.  
  
He took the gold medallion out of his pocket and looked at it.  
  
"Harry Potter, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said clearly, holding the TimeTwister close to him.  
  
Everything around him blurred out and he soon found himself standing in the middle of some sort of plain. He could see Hogwarts a few miles away in the distance.  
  
Harry smiled.  
  
He looked down at the TimeTwister and pressed his wand on the magic calendar.  
  
"September the first, 1977," he said.  
  
The landscape around him began to twirl dangerously.  
  
He was going back in time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
This was a long chapter, I could have divided it in two chapters but I wanted to directly jump to the interesting parts . . .  
  
P-p-p-p-please tell me what you think! ^_^ 


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for reading everyone!  
  
ColdflameK: Thank you! And it will be awesome to have Harry with his father and Sirius . . . but there will be a downside to all of it . . .  
  
Nihilum: Thanks! And sorry about the spelling errors. I wrote it quickly and I didn't double check for errors because I wanted to post it immediately . . . but I checked it and corrected everything. And yes, Harry didn't have money with him . . . he wanted to check if he could find it immediately, or something -_-.  
  
Amme1212: Thanks! ^_^  
  
DeadAngel: Thanks for your support! Here's the rest!  
  
Spacecadet: Well here is more! ^_^  
  
Tingling_bells: thank you!  
  
YuZira: I update regularly all of my stories, so don't worry about that ^_^  
  
Usagi: Yeah, Vernon was a bit scared to refuse . . .  
  
Snuffles2: Thank you! I fixed the mistakes! I didn't take the time to double check the spelling, but everything should be okay now. And you are right, English is not my first language ^_^ I'm French.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
Harry had never been on a roller coaster ride but thought that what he had been though was ten times worst, without being not enjoyable. When everything stopped moving, quite a while later, Harry felt like he wouldn't be able to walk straight for days. A smile on his face, he tried making a step forward, only arriving to fall to the ground with humorous style.  
  
Bukes hadn't specified that using the TimeTwister was very amusing, even if it provided strong dizziness.  
  
Harry didn't move, staring at the blue sky above him that was still twirling in circles. Finally, about fifteen minutes later, Harry was able to get to his feet without stumbling forwards. A wide grin on his face, he looked up at a Hogwarts school as it had been eighteen years ago.  
  
He noticed that the grounds seemed to be more covered by woodlands and that the lake seemed slightly smaller. Harry noted that Hagrid's hut was exactly the same, which surprised him.  
  
"Hagrid was keeper of the keys and grounds of Hogwarts at this time?" Harry mumbled. "Why didn't he tell me?"  
  
"Maybe because he doesn' know ya," a loud, very familiar voice said from behind him.  
  
Harry turned around to come face to face with an eighteen year younger Hagrid. He hadn't changed at all, except for the beard that was just starting to grow.  
  
"Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed happily, regretting it a second later.  
  
"How come ya know me?" Hagrid asked, completely bewildered.  
  
"Euh . . . I heard about you," Harry said quickly. "You're the keeper of the grounds, aren't you not?"  
  
"Yes, eh am," Hagrid said, somewhat puffing his chest.  
  
" . . . I'm Harry," Harry said, handing out his hand.  
  
"Rubeus Hagrid," the giant answered, shaking the boy's hand. "How d'ya get here? And why are you wearing muggle clothes? You can see Hogwarts, so you're evidently a wizard, but-"  
  
"Well, it's a long story," Harry started. "I was looking for Hogwarts but I couldn't find it and since I passed in muggle villages and towns, I decided to wear muggle clothes."  
  
"And how'd ya get here?" Hagrid repeated.  
  
"I . . . I flew," Harry invented quickly. "But . . . my broom simply stopped here and . . . euh, disappeared."  
  
"Yer' not aloud to fly long distances yet!" Hagrid said, rather sternly. "You need to have finished school for that . . . just pray no one saw you."  
  
"No one saw me, I was very careful," Harry said swiftly.  
  
"But about it disappearing . . . that's odd," Hagrid continued. "But maybe it's because you were about to fly into the Hogwarts grounds . . . maybe ya can't . . . I don't know . . .ye'll have ta see the headmaster for that . . ."  
  
"Euh . . . what date is it?" Harry asked.  
  
"The first of September, o'course!" Hagrid said, chuckling. "The students will arrive by train in about three hours. I don't know how ya managed ta get here . . . how come ya don't have ya school supplies?"  
  
"I . . . I . . . I'm new," Harry slurred.  
  
"Come with meh, professor Dumbledore will want to see ya," the giant said calmly.  
  
Harry followed his old friend through the plain, around the lake and finally arrived at the school's main entrance at least twenty minutes later. To his surprise, he saw a very younger-looking professor McGonagall standing in the stairs.  
  
"Holy shit," he could stop himself from exclaiming, unaware that Hagrid had perfectly heard him, maybe even professor McGonagall herself.  
  
Harry saw his transfiguration teacher glare at him, and couldn't help but think that if she was eighteen years in the future, she would know so much about him.  
  
"Your name?" she asked, looking at Harry straight in the eyes. "And explain the fact that you are not in the Hogwarts Express with the rest of your fellow students."  
  
"Well, I flew here but my broom disappeared over that hill," Harry said, slyly avoiding naming himself. "And Hagrid found me up there. I'm not with the rest of the students because I'm new . . . and I'm supposed to go in sixth year, in Griffindor."  
  
Professor McGonagall's eyes narrowed looking at his sternly, as Harry crossed his fingers, praying that she was going to believe him and accept as true those lies.  
  
"Hagrid, please take him to the headmaster," she said finally.  
  
"Yes ma'am," the giant said, walking up the stairs and pass the great hall, closely followed by Harry who wanted to get away from the head of his house quickly, having the odd feeling that she could see right through him.  
  
Harry absentmindedly followed Hagrid up to the large statue behind which he knew the headmaster's office was.  
  
"Loose Dungbomb," Hagrid said, making the statue jump sideways.  
  
Harry was bought up to professor Dumbledore's office. Hagrid didn't wait to see if the headmaster needed him and left immediately, probably to wait for the Hogwarts Express to arrive with the rest of the students.  
  
Harry saw that the beautiful circular room was exactly like he had known it eighteen years in the future. Even Fwakes was there, perched on his post. Harry made a few steps forwards and saw an eighteen-year-old younger headmaster sitting behind his desk.  
  
Harry instantly knew that he wasn't going to be able to lie to him.  
  
Before he could say a word, Harry started speaking very quickly, hoping that professor Dumbledore was going to listen to him, and understand.  
  
"Professor, I know you don't know me but please, let me say what I need to say before saying anything," Harry started. "I can't tell you from where I come or who I really am because I'm sure you wouldn't understand, and I'm saying that as a friend, not just a student. Please don't ask questions because I don't want to lie. Just know that I'm here to learn and study as a Griffindor student here to start his sixth year and that my situation might sound odd and questionable but please,-"  
  
"I understand," professor Dumbledore interrupted. "No need to try to explain what you don't want me to know."  
  
Harry sighed in relief and sat in the chair in front of the desk.  
  
"Thank you so much," he said, out of breath.  
  
Professor Dumbledore stared at him through his half-moon spectacles, hands crossed together on his desk.  
  
"Can I at least know your first name?" he asked finally.  
  
"Harry, sir," he answered, smiling.  
  
"Well, Harry," the headmaster said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."  
  
~~~  
  
Harry stood a bit further away from the teacher's table, watching as students started filling the great hall, occasionally giving Harry a quizzical look, probably wondering who he was and what he was going there.  
  
He was wearing second-hand robes professor Dumbledore had provided for him, and had found old school books he would be allowed to use. Harry didn't have the money to buy them and so he was asked not to damage them too much and to return them at the end of the year.  
  
His eyes fixed at the line of students arriving, Harry's heart jumped a couple of beats when he saw Sirius enter the Great Hall, uniform completely out of order, head up high and wand in hand, as if he was searching for someone to hex. His jaw dropped when he saw who was with him.  
  
His father.  
  
Slapping his godfather's back and laughing loudly was James Potter, uniform in the same state as his friend and hair in a completely bedridden fashion.  
  
He himself was followed by two other people Harry immediately recognized. The first was Remus Lupin, wearing impeccable robes with a shinning prefect badge on his chest. His hair was light chestnut colour and he was rather pale and thin. The second person was Peter Pettigrow, young, mousy looking teenager. Harry was immediately tempted to curse him, but knew it wasn't the time at all.  
  
Harry watched them make their way to the Griffindor table and sit down without stopping their conversation. After a while, he noticed that Remus kept glancing in his direction once in a while, while still talking to James and Sirius. He looked away and decided to concentrate on the row of people still entering by the main entrance.  
  
He saw girls and boys of all ages wearing practically identical robes, each walking to their house table without really looking at the other houses. The Slytherins had the exact same attitude Harry knew so well and The Ravenclaws looked too proud to talk to the friendly Hufflepuffs sitting right next to them.  
  
Harry concentrated on the entrance again and his jaw dropped a second time when he recognized another person.  
  
She was probably also going in her sixth year. Her hair was dark red and her eyes were green, she was of reasonable height and had fair skin, and Harry immediately deducted that she was very pretty.  
  
Lily Evans.  
  
She walked between the tables with a smile on her face, saluting many people, until she reached James' level. There, her smile faded and she rose her head in a rather smug way, She walked pass him ignoring what he was saying and sat down further away with her friends.  
  
Finally, everyone was settled and the first years came in, leaded by professor McGonagall. Harry watched the sorting hat sing his song and each new student get sorted and finally, started feeling butterflies in his stomach when Dumbledore asked him to walk forwards.  
  
He stood on the stage a bit further away from the centre while Dumbledore made his beginning of year speech and dictated a few rules. All the eyes in the room were staring at him and he was sure he was turning a light shade of scarlet.  
  
"Now," Dumbledore said. "We have another new student among us this year. Please welcome Harry to the Griffindor house."  
  
Harry heard the whole Griffindor table erupt in cheers while the others simply clapped. He made his way up the table, keeping his head down, and sat between a fifth and sixth grader, glad that Dumbledore had stopped his introduction there.  
  
A few moments later, the table was covered with very appetizing food. Forgetting his worries, Harry helped himself with roasted chicken and potato salad, listening to the conversations going on around him.  
  
"Spent my summer between Canada and America," a boy with frizzy orange hair said. "My parents and I saw eight Quidditch matches. Incredible how big their new Quidditch stadium is, up in Canada. Really beautiful. I saw the Moose Jaw Meteorites play against the Stonewall Stormers there. And I saw the Sweetwater All-Stars in Texas . . . "  
  
"I stayed with my mom," a girl with pale brown hair and a freckled nose said. "She works for the Ministry and takes care of magical animals . . . we took care of two tebos (1)! Can you imagine? She's so good she could really become teacher here . . ."  
  
"Hey, Harry, where are you from?"  
  
Harry looked around the table, searching for the one that had talked to him. He found Lily looking at him with a smile.  
  
"Well . . . euh, . . . Surrey," Harry said, thinking of Privet Drive, yet regretting it afterwards.  
  
"What a coincidence! Me too!" Lily said, handing out her hand. "I'm Lily Evans, by the way."  
  
"Harry Potter," Harry said promptly, shaking her hand that she removed almost immediately after hearing his name.  
  
"Potter?" she asked cautiously, looking at him for an explanation.  
  
Harry felt like hitting himself.  
  
"Well, no not really," he started stupidly. "But it's the name I use . . ."  
  
"What?" Lily asked, frowning. "You don't use your parents' name?"  
  
"Well . . . no," Harry said uncomfortably. "Because . . . I don't live with them . . ."  
  
"How come?" the boy that had spent his vacation in America, asked.  
  
"Well . . . they died . . ." Harry tried to say.  
  
"I'm so sorry," Lily said. "I didn't know . . . sorry. It's just that I thought you were related to *him*," she said, showing him James. "And you really look like him . . . except for your eyes, so it didn't help."  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"You don't seem to like him much," he said, seeing that that statement made a tinge of red appear on her cheeks.  
  
"Just see how he is," she said. "And you'll understand . . . And be careful not to be hexed in the hallway."  
  
"Hexed?" Harry asked.  
  
But Lily was already talking to a girl sitting in front of her a bit further away. Harry frowned and continued eating.  
  
Once he had finished eating, he made his way towards the door, just like many other students. Harry noticed that the main staircase was completely jammed by students and decided to take a shortcut to arrive to the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
The hallway he took was completely empty and he took his time walking through it. He turned a corner and heard faint footsteps behind him.  
  
He kept on walking as if he hadn't heard anything, but his hand slipped into his pocket and grabbed his wand.  
  
He felt the footsteps following and he couldn't help but smile. He had almost reached another hallway when he heard that someone was muttering a spell.  
  
He quickly turned around to face his attackers.  
  
"Protego!" he shouted, blocking the jet of purple light that had been supposed to his him.  
  
He saw that his assailants were outnumbering him, and stated throwing spells at them.  
  
"Impedimenta!" he yelled, making the first person stumble backwards. "Incarcerous!"  
  
Seeing that they were still there but weren't moving or doing anything, Harry stopped throwing spells at them and waited.  
  
What he head next surprised him. The people were laughing.  
  
He made a few steps forwards to see who they were and his heart almost stopped beating.  
  
Sirius was leaning against the wall, wand out, folded in two and laughing his head off. Remus was on the other side, next to one of the windows, grinning and giggling silently. Further away was Peter that looked more sorry than anything else.  
  
James Potter was in the middle of their circle, on the floor, tied up with ropes, his wand just out of reach.  
  
The site was quite funny but Harry couldn't help feeling that his heart was now working more slowly.  
  
"Finite Incantem," Harry whispered, pointing his wand at his young father.  
  
The ropes disappeared and James started laughing, not moving from his spot.  
  
Sirius made a step towards Harry, still laughing very loudly and slapped his shoulder a couple of times.  
  
"I'm . . . Sirius Black . . . also known as Padfoot . . ." he said between puffs of laughter. "He's Remus 'Moony' Lupin . . . Peter 'Wormtail' Pettigrew over there . . . and that's James Potter . . . also called Prongs . . . We're the Marauders . . . Welcome!"  
  
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Please tell me what you think! Advie is very, very well accepted!  
  
(1) Tebos are ash-coloured warthogs found in Congo and Zaire. They have the power of invisibility and so are hard to catch. They are very dangerous and their hide is highly prised by wizards for protective shields and clothing. Got that info in 'Fantastic Beasts and where to Find Them'. 


	3. Chapter 3

Oh well, I'm sorry I took this long to update. My Internet broke down, I'm updating from an internet café but now that I'm going back to school tomorrow I'll be able to update, read and review! ^_^  
  
Thanks for everyone who reviewed and feel free to suggest stories to read, as soon as I have time, I'll read em'.  
  
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Chapter 3:  
  
It was nearly eleven o'clock and Harry was sitting with the Marauders at a table in the otherwise empty Griffindor common room. Sirius had brought Butterbeers in his suitcase and they were all drinking merrily, talking about the night's events again.  
  
"No, it's because James isn't easily hexed," Sirius explained. "He's the guy that throws the hexes, not receives them."  
  
"I'm sorry," Harry said for the fourth time, smiling due to the effects of the butterbeer, unbelieving that he was having a talk with his father and godfather.  
  
"I told you it was okay," James said, taking another sip of his bottle. "What's your name, by the way?"  
  
"Harry," he said. "Harry . . . Potter."  
  
"What?" James exclaimed, looking at him with cocked eyebrows.  
  
"It's the name I took after my parents died," Harry said, figuring that he wasn't really lying.  
  
"Do you mind us asking how your parents died?" Remus asked shyly, turning his half-filled bottle in his hands.  
  
"Well . . . they were killed by a Dark Wizard," Harry said slowly.  
  
"Sorry," Sirius, James and Remus said at the same time.  
  
"He . . . he gave you that scar?" Remus asked, looking at Harry's forehead.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
There was a moment of silence, as all of them didn't really know what to say next.  
  
"Hey, Peter," James said, shaking his little friend, seeing that he had fallen asleep.  
  
Peter's head jerked upwards from the table and he stared at them with sleepy eyes.  
  
"Wasn't me," he muttered, yawning.  
  
"Go to bed, Wormtail," Sirius said, playfully punching his arm. "No action tonight, anyways."  
  
"Action?" Harry asked, supporting his head with his arm, elbow on the table as Peter walked away towards the dormitories.  
  
"We play tricks on people," James said, smiling. "We're preparing tricks tomorrow night. Wanna join us? I mean . . . you did hex me, and that's a first, so I guess you could join us. What do you think, Padfoot? Should we bring him?"  
  
"Definitely," Sirius said mischievously.  
  
He yawned and took another sip of butterbeer.  
  
"Finish up, people," he said. "I'm going to sleep and I need to hide the bottles. I don't want a detention on the second day of school . . . I mean . . . we need to prepare our stuff tomorrow . . ."  
  
Harry took his three last gulps of beverage and handed his third bottle before rising from his seat.  
  
"T'was great to see you again, Sirius," he said, wobbling away. "This is way better than the present . . . I'm with you and dad and mom too . . . It's weird."  
  
James, Sirius and Remus stood in silence, listening to him with small smiles on their faces.  
  
"Somebody got too much butterbeer," James noted.  
  
"Hey Sirius," Remus said. " He looks like James, don't you find?"  
  
"Hell, he is James," Sirius laughed.  
  
"Hey!" James exclaimed happily. "Maybe we're lost twins or something!"  
  
"I dunno," Remus said. "Its just that all of this is . . . odd."  
  
"Yeah, well maybe we'll think more clearly after a good night sleep," Padfoot said, walking away. "You're all coming or what?"  
  
"Yeah," the other two Marauders answered, following him.  
  
~~~  
  
"Please state me why Augurey feathers are useless as quills, mister Black," a slightly bothered professor Cortaine, defense against the dark arts teacher, said, seeing that half of his class could not write down their notes.  
  
"Because they repel ink, professor," Sirius answered, unable to stop grinning, seeing James, Harry, Remus and Peter cracking up next to him.  
  
Professor Isabella Cortaine, a tall woman with blue eyes and a crooked nose on which balanced a tiny pair of glasses was wearing dark blue robes and was now rubbing her temple, sighing discontentedly.  
  
"Please write down five hundred times 'I will not sell Augurey feathers as quills in the hallway before classes because it is completely useless'," she said. "You too, mister Potter. I know you were in it too."  
  
"Me?" Harry asked.  
  
"No, James Potter," Professor Cortaine said, shaking her head.  
  
Many of the students glared at Sirius before starting searching in their things for an old quill. They had all wasted five sickles for the beautiful greenish/black quills he and James had been selling in the hallway. They hadn't suspected anything, which was the oddest thing.  
  
"Those idiots'll never change," Lily muttered to her friend that had bought one of those quills and was now pulling out an old quill from her school bag.  
  
The professor continued her course, which consisted of revising what they had learned the previous year about controllable effects provided by dark spells and the repellant formula able to stop the thrown curse, otherwise known as the 'protective spell'. Harry had used it against James the previous night and had no trouble understanding the lesson.  
  
He saw that being with his young father and his godfather was the best thing he could have imagined. They immediately became good friends and spent all their time together. Harry saw that even if they played tricks on everyone, the Marauders still had exceptional grades.  
  
"It comes naturally," Sirius had joked.  
  
~~~  
  
The rest of the day passed surprisingly fast for all of them. Their two periods of Defense Against the Dark Arts class started by students being unable to write down their notes and continued with ink that wouldn't work (that James had sold in the Hogwarts Express). The next class was Herbology and Harry noticed his father trying to capture a bowtruckle, a woodland creature seeming to be made of twigs, while all of them looked for healing plants on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. James had come back holding it by a foot, but didn't get to keep it for long. It jumped to his face and poked his eyes with its long fingers before running back to the forest, running in zigzags as Sirius and Peter tried to catch it again.  
  
After dinner, they attended Care of Magical Creatures where they studied fire-dwelling Salamanders that fed on flames. The object of the course was to make the little white lizards live outside of their fire, while keeping them alive. In order to do so, the students had to feed them pepper.  
  
The second objective of the course was to retrieve sample of the animals' blood, which had powerful curative and restorative properties.  
  
Peter received severe burns to his fingers when trying to feed his specimen, but it hadn't eaten his pepper and had returned to his fire immediately, and so no blood sample had been obtained by his lizard. Remus had later on offered some of his Salamader's blood so Peter could nurse his wounds.  
  
They had double potions with Slytherins at the end of the day and Harry was absolutely delighted to see that the teacher was almost Snape's exact opposite.  
  
The teacher was a tall bubbly man with short black hair and a big mustache. He was head of Slytherin house, but did not seem to pay more attention to the students of his house.  
  
Harry was very surprised to see that professor Wretcher actually *helped* him when he mixed too much cleaver powder to his luck potion, without taking points off Griffindor House. For the first time in his life, he spent something close to an enjoyable potions lesson.  
  
After their class, Harry saw that sixth years were given a free period at the end of each Mondays and Thursdays in order for them to study. As Remus had told him, every sixth year student needed to have extremely good grades in their O.W.L.s at the end of the year, so they could achieve their NE.W.T.S. in their seventh year.  
  
Seeing that they hadn't been given any homework, Harry and The Marauders decided to take a walk outside to take a breath of fresh air.  
  
Walking near the lake, the boys talked about what they intended to do during the year, without really revealing anything to Harry.  
  
"And so I think we should get Bundimuns," Sirius said. "Just set them loose near the entrance of the Slytherin common room . . . I'm sure we could find someone that could get some for us in the Hog's Head."  
  
"What's a bundimun?" Peter asked, throwing little rocks into the lake.  
  
"Animal that oozes a secretion which rots away foundations and that feeds on dirt. It can make floors collapse," Remus answered scientifically. "It looks like a patch of greenish fungus with eyes and little legs."  
  
"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Peter answered anxiously. "I mean . . . we wouldn't want to really hurt them or anything . . .do we?"  
  
"Nah, they'll just be surprised," James answered. "Very, very surprised . . ."  
  
". . . Not to find a floor in their common room the next morning," Sirius finished, smiling. "But of course, Dumbledore e'll fix it immediately. He'll maybe call the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures' Pest sub-division and ask them to take them away if he doesn't do it himself."  
  
They walked in silence for a few moments, James staring at a group of girls under one of the numerous willows near the shore, He brought his hands to his mouth and shouted.  
  
"HI, LILY!" he yelled.  
  
The girl with red hair turned around, saw James and smiled before going back to her conversation with two other girls.  
  
"Did you see that?" James asked excitedly. "Did you see that? She smiled! Oh my God, this is a good day!"  
  
"He's got a huge crush on that girl," Remus whispered to Harry, thinking that he didn't know.  
  
"Yes, well maybe it was a sarcastic smile," Sirius teased.  
  
"I don't care."  
  
"Or a mocking smile," Remus continued.  
  
"I don't care," James continued.  
  
"Or a 'You don't have a chance with me' smile," Peter said.  
  
"I don't care! There's a start to everything!"  
  
"Or maybe it was simply a smirk," Harry said, joining them.  
  
"Stop it! All of you! Agh!" James said, ruffling his hair. "I'm telling you, I'm going to get her."  
  
"Now where have I heard that before?" Sirius asked mockingly.  
  
"Shut up, all of you," James commanded.  
  
~~~  
  
They walked back up to the school for supper and ate in a rather silent way, Harry thinking that they were most probably concentrating on new tricks they wanted to pull off the next day.  
  
In the end, he was right.  
  
They all walked back to their dorms after eating and directly went to sleep, telling Harry that they would wake him around two in the morning.  
  
~~~  
  
"Harry! Harry! Wake up!"  
  
Harry grumbled and turned sideways.  
  
"Come on!" he heard again. "Peter and Remus won't come this time. Too tiered. Are you coming?"  
  
Harry opened his eyes and nodded positively. He grabbed his glasses from his bedside table and slid to the side of his four-poster bed.  
  
"Do I need to change?" he asked, looking at the pajamas he had borrowed from Remus.  
  
"Nah, not this time," Sirius said. "And slippers make less noise than shoes, so it gives us an advantage."  
  
"I don't have any slippers," Harry said dully.  
  
"You don't have anything, Harry!" James chuckled. "Take Remus'. Peter's won't fit you, he has tiny feet."  
  
Harry did what he was asked, yawning from time to time.  
  
"Now for the rest, you must solemnly swear on you own head that you will never reveal anything to anyone," Sirius said. "And that you are up to no good."  
  
James sand Harry smiled. Both knew that it was the password to accede to the Marauders' Map.  
  
"I swear," Harry simply said.  
  
"Good!" James said happily. "Well that settles it!"  
  
They all descended to the common room and it is there Harry was shown two things both Sirius and James thought he didn't know about: the Marauder's Map and James' invisibility cloak.  
  
"Now . . . we're going to the History of Magic class," Sirius said.  
  
The three students walked out of the common room under the invisibility cape in order not to be seen by the Fat Lady. Once they were a good distance away, they could all walk freely without fearing of being seen . . . thanks to the Marauders' Map.  
  
"Over here!" James whispered when they were walking through a completely deserted corridor.  
  
Harry saw him bend down, lift the carpeting to reveal . . . a passageway.  
  
"It's quicker by this way," he said. "And professor Beckus is coming towards us."  
  
Before Harry could ask whom professor Beckus was, Sirius explained.  
  
"He's the charms teacher," he said. "And he's always in our way when we're out of bed at night because he's a sleepwalker. He goes to the kitchen almost every night to get something to eat. It gets annoying."  
  
Harry followed his father down the stone passageway and walked through it crouched in two. They passed many traps that they could have used, and all of them leaded to a different hallway.  
  
"Here we are," James said, arriving to another trap door. "No one up there, Padfoot?"  
  
"The coast is clear," Sirius answered, taking one look at the Marauders' Map.  
  
The trio climbed up and Harry found himself facing a gigantic Winged-Horse statue he had never seen before.  
  
"Where are we?" he couldn't help but ask.  
  
"One level underground, right above our potions' class," Sirius answered. "The corridor's been out of use because the tiles move when you walk on them and it really hurts when you hit the floor, believe me."  
  
"History class is three levels above us," James said, looking at the ceiling. "We'll use the wall panel."  
  
Harry didn't need an explanation this time. James simply walked to the wall, carefully jumping over the tiles, tapped his wand on one of the panels and it glided sideways, revealing some sort of lift."  
  
"Cool!" Harry exclaimed.  
  
"Let's go," Sirius said, closing the trap door.  
  
The lift wasn't slow but it still took them a few minutes to reach the second floor, where finally, they found the History of Magic class.  
  
James didn't even pick the lock or use the alohomora spell, seeing that the door had been left ajar. They walked in, James immediately seating himself in the teacher's place, a wide grin on his face.  
  
Harry walked around and noticed Sirius carefully opening a jar he had brought from the Griffindor tower.  
  
"What's in there?" he asked.  
  
"The thing that's going to make boring History class, tomorrow first period, *very* fun," Padfoot said, carefully turning the lid of his glass jar.  
  
Harry approached and recognized immediately what was in the jar. About thirty or so Billywigs.  
  
"We decided to pull tricks on people by using magic creatures for the first term," James said. "Billywigs were first on the lists, even before the Augurey feathers... for the second term, we'll have belly blasters and hypnotizing books . . . then we'll have a big surprise for the Slytherin Quidditch team . . . for Christmas we'll probably use billywigs again . . ."  
  
The billywig, Harry knew, was an insect native to Australia. It was round, half an inch long and was a vivid sapphire blue. As he could see, they were very quick, having wings were attached to the top of their heads and rotating very fast, making themselves spin as they flew. At the bottom of the body is a long thin sting. Those stung by it were known to suffer from giddiness . . . soon followed by levitation.  
  
"We made sure no one was allergic," James said, reassuring Harry. "In fact, Remus was the one to do the research."  
  
Sirius moved the lid sideways, enough to pass his wand into the jar.  
  
"Stupefy!" he whispered, making all the billywigs stop rotating.  
  
He then opened the jar and pulled out the fist billywig, holding it by its sting.  
  
"The spell will stop in exactly six hours and twelve minutes," Padfoot said. "Now . . . help me attach them to the chairs."  
  
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Everything is going well for Harry but I'm telling you know, there's a reason why you're not supposed to be seen when going back in time . . . mweheheh . . .  
  
Hope you like it, please review! And don't be shy if you have any sort of suggestion for plots or anything else! 


	4. Chatper 4

Hey everyone! I'm back! I hate the class I'm in and I'm separated from all my friends and I'm going mad but I'm trying to update every week. It's just that I have a lot of work AND I can't write at school because they don't want us to bring disks anymore because of viruses (grrrr...). So I have less time to write, but I want you all to know that I'm doing my best to keep writing!  
  
Thanks to all my reviewers. (*sniff* you all hold a special place in my heart) ^_^  
  
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Chapter 4:  
  
Harry, just like the marauders, had a gigantic grin on his face, watching a very alive professor Binns motionless at the sight of his students floating around in the air, most of them still suffering from giddiness the Billywig stings had provided them with. The professor simply stayed there, behind his desk, mouth half open, eyeing a sight he wound probably remember for the rest of his life . . . alive *and* dead.  
  
"G . . . ge-get down! All of y-you!" he said finally after the last Ravenclaw's feet left the ground. "Y-you! Blackins! Lupard! H-help them!"  
  
Sirius and Remus looked at each other for a moment, knowing their teacher was referring to them, even though he hadn't quite said their names right, like he always did.  
  
"I should maybe get professor Cortaine!" James suggested, pretending to look worried.  
  
"Y-yes! You do that!" Professor Binns mumbled, eyes still fixed on his floating students.  
  
James tugged on Harry's robes and both quietly walked out of the classroom, supposedly getting their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher that of course, they weren't really intending to find.  
  
They peacefully walked down the empty hallway towards the nearest staircase, that they used to get to the fifth level.  
  
"When they see that we're not coming back, Binns'll send Sirius and Peter to get someone while Remus accidentally opens a window," James said, grinning. "All we have to do now is create wind. We'll see the rest of the students floating away like balloons and we'll have the rest of the morning off since the teachers will need a couple of extra periods to reassemble the students."  
  
Harry smiled seeing his father laughing.  
  
"But the students . . . they can't go too far, can they?" he asked.  
  
"Nah. They won't pass the Quidditch field, but are still going to go pretty high," James answered.  
  
"But . . . what if the effect wears off while they're still in the air?" Harry asked anxiously.  
  
"Impossible," Prongs said. "The teachers have time to realize students are floating around, have a speech with Binns to know what's happening, walk outside, inspect the sky, get their brooms and start dragging people down. It's quite funny actually. They're going to tie the students' feet to the ground with rocks until the effect stops, around lunch time."  
  
"How did you figure out all of that?" Harry asked, amazed to see something the Weasley twins hadn't come up with before.  
  
"Sirius had the idea of using billywigs, I had the idea to use it on the students in class, Peter had the idea of opening the window and Moony did all the research to make sure everything was going to work perfectly."  
  
"I've never seen anything like it," Harry mumbled.  
  
"Yeah, but you've never seen the Marauders!" James joked. "But anyhow, here is our window, so we'll simply give a light breeze when Sirius gives us the signal."  
  
They waited until Sirius appeared at the other end of the corridor before performing a couple of spells and quickly see students flying out the window, trying to catch on to something in their way, screaming and laughing at the same time. Soon enough, they were joined by Peter and Remus who also enjoyed the sight for a few minutes.  
  
"So . . . we just gave everyone the morning off," Remus said solemnly. "We are heroes."  
  
Padfoot patted his friend's elbow, pretending to hold back a few tears.  
  
"Yes," he repeated. "We are heroes."  
  
"JAMES POTTER!" a female voice barked, making them all jump three feet high.  
  
The Marauders turned around to see a very furious looking Lily Evans storming in their direction.  
  
"If you're looking for Silvia, she just flew a kite towards the Quidditch field," Sirius said, smiling.  
  
"Do you idiots have any IDEA that what you are doing could be dangerous?" she yelled.  
  
"No, I made sure everything was going to work," Remus said quietly. "But how come you're not taking a flying lesson with the others?"  
  
Harry and Peter smiled and turned back to Lily to see her reaction.  
  
"I didn't sit down!" she yelled. "But when are you going to grow up? Can't you see that even if you planned everything, something could go wrong? What if a student didn't get seriously pricked and lost altitude quicker that the others? What if someone was allergic? What if someone had a too strong reaction? Don't you know that if you get pricked by a Billywig one too many times, you can float forever? Why can't you use your brains? Why can you just stay calm? WHY?"  
  
"For fun," Peter suggested.  
  
"FUN?" Lily yelled, harder than ever. "FUN to see people scared out of their wits?"  
  
"They're not scared, they're laughing," Sirius mocked.  
  
Lily was now literally fuming. Before Sirius could truly react, Lily pulled out her wand that she had been holding in her pocket and pointed it at him.  
  
"IMPEDIMENTA!" she yelled, making him get knocked off his feet and slam into the wall.  
  
"Are you having fun, Black?" she asked, smiling slyly.  
  
"Oh, you're going to regret that, Evans," Sirius said dangerously.  
  
"Yes, well the next time you do something like that, you're the one that's going to regret it, just like you, *Potter*," she hissed, quickly walking away and disappearing down the hallway.  
  
"James!" Sirius yelled, now himself looking angry. "You could have stopped that spell!"  
  
James reddened and looked away.  
  
"But I couldn't throw a spell at *her*," James said, annoyed.  
  
"And you couldn't watch your best buddy's back," Sirius replied, crossing his arms.  
  
Prongs made a sound, and ruffled his black hair once again, which only seemed to make Sirius roll his eyes. Padfoot turned around and started walking away, ignoring Remus and Peter that were trying to hold him back.  
  
Harry shook his head and sighed.  
  
"I'll go talk to him," he told his father, himself turning around and starting to run behind his young godfather.  
  
~~~  
  
Harry took much time to find Sirius, seeing that he was constantly using secret passageways and never slowing down.  
  
Finally, Harry caught up with him not too far from the library.  
  
Sirius was simply standing there, hands in his pockets, looking out one of the windows. Harry walked up to him without a word and stood beside him.  
  
"Harry, you might think this is an odd question but . . . have we ever met . . . before?" Sirius asked without looking at him.  
  
Harry stared at him quizzically.  
  
"N . . . no, why would you think that?" he asked uncomfortably.  
  
"You just . . . I don't know . . . you just seem kind of familiar, but in an odd way," he said. "You're like James, but so different at the same time."  
  
Harry turned to Padfoot and took a good look at him. His skin was darker than how he remembered it to be in the future, and he guessed it was Azkaban that made him loose his colours. His eyes, instead of being black as he thought they would have been, were of a dark blue shade. He was well built and strong looking, unlike James who was rather on the small and skinny side. His hair was just as long and as black as Harry knew they were, but instead of looking joyful or rascally as he used to be, he looked kind of sad.  
  
"You know, it's the first girl James really pays attention too," he said neutrally, still looking out the window.  
  
"You . . . you don't like Lily?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well . . . it's like if she's bringing James and me apart, in some way," Sirius said. "I mean, we were like brothers and now . . . I don't really know . . . we're changing."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Harry said, somewhat sadly. "You'll be friends to the end, I can promise you that."  
  
Sirius smiled and looked in his direction for the first time since his arrival.  
  
"You really are something, Harry," he said, making his friend smile back to him. "Well . . . I'll go find James."  
  
Harry watched him go with no intention of following him.  
  
~He probably needs to talk to him alone,~ he thought, walking in the opposite direction.  
  
He headed to the library and started walking through the aisles, staring at the book titles absentmindedly, head tilted on one side. He walked slowly, hands in his pockets, a modern-day song playing through his head. He started humming the tune softly to himself, thinking about how great everything was doing.  
  
He was in the fifth aisle of bookshelves when he nearly had a heart attack: he was reading the titles, halfway through the letter C when he saw two green eyes staring at him through the bookshelf, from the sixth aisle. He jumped backwards, eyes wide open, ready to reach for his wand when he recognized those eyes as his own . . . in fact, it was his young mother, Lily, that was staring at him from the other side of the bookshelves. He could only see her eyes but Harry could see in them that she was smiling.  
  
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," she said. "I'm hiding from Sirius and the others."  
  
Harry simply stared.  
  
"I hope you don't think that I'm going to hex you," she joked. "I know you weren't really in that horrible joke of theirs. I have the impression that they just pulled you in. And anyhow, you don't seem to be like them."  
  
"I don't?" Harry asked, a bit surprised.  
  
"Well . . not yet," Lily said calmly. "But you still have that remarkable resemblance to James," she added dreamily.  
  
"You're not the first one to tell me that," Harry said sympathetically, still staring at her eyes, his heart trembling at the thought that he was talking to his own mother.  
  
"But I'm serious Harry," Lily continued. "Be careful with them. They can really get dangerous without even realizing it. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."  
  
"Yes mom," Harry unconsciously whispered.  
  
He reddened and she started laughing.  
  
"Don't make fun of me!" she laughed. "I'm serious!"  
  
Harry smiled sadly.  
  
"Well . . . I'm gonna have to go . . . see you around Harry," she said, disappearing under the bookshelf.  
  
~~~  
  
Harry found the Marauders a while later, and quickly saw that James and Sirius weren't in conflict anymore. In fact, they seemed to have forgotten everything that had gone wrong between them and were talking merrily about the Quidditch matches.  
  
"I'm seeker for Griffindor, you know," James told Harry proudly. "I've never lost a match and never had a good opponent. And my father always gets me the best broom. I have a Nimbus 666! T'was named like that because you really ride like a devil on one of those things. Super fast and super agile."  
  
"Did I tell you that it took an eternity before McGonagall realized that three students were flying right outside her class window," Remus said. "Johnny told me the look on her face was priceless."  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by Professor Dumbledore who came to them by behind.  
  
"Sirius, James, Remus and Peter," he sighed. "Could I see you in my office please?"  
  
The Marauders followed the headmaster, smiling, and so not looking like culprits at all. Harry spent the next free hours alone until, like Sirius had predicted, the students that had flown away were brought back down to earth around lunch time.  
  
Harry heard that the Marauders were punished for their 'lack of common sense' and had to clean flooded toilets for the rest of the afternoon. They all came back exhausted and their night outing was cancelled.  
  
~~~  
  
It was nighttime but Harry couldn't find sleep. His hands behind his head, he stared at the ceiling, smiling. The Marauders were sleeping soundly, James on his right, Remus on his left followed by Sirius and Peter. Turning his head, he could see his father's things laying on his bedside table. He could see an old watch ticking slowly, A miniature snitch floating around in a small glass container, A Quidditch book, pictures, notes and other things he liked inspecting, repeating to himself that they belonged to his father.  
  
Moony looked awful, having headaches that pulled him out of class nearly every day, and Harry knew just why: the full moon was approaching, and he was wondering if the Marauders would tell him immediately that Remus was a werewolf. He didn't think so, knowing very well that they wouldn't open a secret like that to a new friend they barely knew . . . in fact, he was surprised they were becoming friends so fast. They had already told him about the invisibility cape and the Marauders' map and they had already invited him to join them in a night excursion.  
  
He rose his head a little and eyes Sirius' still form, hidden under a mountain of blankets a few metres away. Sirius was with him, and so he was happy. He could see the changes every time he looked in a mirror. His eyes had regain their vividness, he ate better and felt great, mentally and physically.  
  
A bit farther, he knew a traitor was sleeping. Peter looked calm, sleeping like a baby, completely tangled up in his covers.  
  
~He harmed Sirius,~ Harry thought, frowning. ~But he's innocent now . . .~  
  
He let himself fall back in his pillow and was ready to fall asleep again, when something ticked in his head. Something was missing. Something was wrong.  
  
And then he remembered.  
  
"Where's the TimeTwister?" he whispered out loud, getting in an upright position.  
  
Only silence answered him.  
  
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Things start going wrong in the next chapter . . .  
  
Please review! 


	5. Chapter 5

Hi, everyone! I have lots of homework from school and so I don't have as much time to write but I'm doing my best in updating regularly.  
  
It's cold, windy and starting to snow here in Montreal. Not very fun, so I stay inside and write. -_- No one knows I'm writing slash... hehehe. I'm sure my friends would freak out if they knew. ^_^  
  
Besides that, nothing much is happening to me. I'll be moving to a new house in spring and I'll have Internet there, so that's an innovation. -_- And I'm looking forward to a trip to Italy at Easter with some other lucky bastards from my school ^_0  
  
*~So, I will stop mumbling about my life and answer my reviewers!~*  
  
Legolas19: Thanks! And I promise, I will try to update more regularly ^_^  
  
Inquiring: I don't mind at all you asking that question! In fact, I'm a bit surprised myself that I'm writing slash stuff and all . . . I mean, I was just an *innocent little writer* that was told that people wrote things like that. I was curious so I read a story and found that it was rather out of character but still fun. You see, writing slash is like writing a love story, but you have much more to do to make it sound believable. You need to make people explore both people's minds and feelings and it's much more complex than a 'regular' love story. I mean, the basis of writing fanfiction is to be able to use the characters like you want to and slash is just like a higher level of that basis, I guess. ^_^ I hope you'll keep on reading!  
  
Amy: Thank you. I'm glad you like it and will like the rest!  
  
Ice: Yeah, he will find it ^_0  
  
David Camp: Thanks! And of course I'm going to read your story! . . . I just need time to read it ¬_¬  
  
Hersheyhugs: I like cliff-hangers! And so you'll probably be getting more ^_^ And the Harry/Sirius is coming up in the nearby future.  
  
Moon Fairy2: Thank you! I'm glad people say my writing is acceptable because English is only my second language, even though I feel more comfortable with it then with French. So thanks for loving it! ^_^  
  
Lanfear1: LOL!!! Thanks! ^_^  
  
Escuro de la Lus: Don't worry! He's going to find it . . . but he's going to have problems with it later on . . . *sniggers* ^_^  
  
Dark-Regrets: Thank you. I would have never thought I was a good slash writer. (what am I saying??? I didn't even reach the slash part!!! Well, whatever.) ^_^  
  
Kionala: Yes! They are going to be there! I'm not sure about the love knot but there will be problems with them . . . ^_^  
  
Akemi Sagara: Awww . . . thank you. That is really nice. ^_^ I hope you like the rest!  
  
Little Elflet: I'm going to use that expression now. Fan-bloody-tastic. LOL! Well, thanks a lot!  
  
Yanjara: Thanks! ^_^  
  
Vicious Lily: Yep, this is going to be a Harry/Sirius ^_^ Just wait a little longer . . .  
  
Wolverinas-moon: Thanks! I hope you like the rest and there will be some Sirius POV later on, so I could put more jealousy ^_^  
  
~~~  
  
Thanks everyone, your reviews really mean something for me!!! Well . . . on with the story!  
  
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Chapter 5:  
  
Harry waited for the first rays of sunshine to illuminate the grounds before heading outside to look for his TimeTwister. He dressed up before anyone else was awake, took the liberty of borrowing his father's cloak and slipped out of his dorm room unnoticed.  
  
He assumed that he was allowed to be out of his common room this early and so did not take detours to reach the entrance.  
  
He passed the Forbidden Forest, the lake and the Quidditch field without really inspecting the ground for his lost object, knowing that it was most probably right where he had landed on the first of September, where Hagrid had found him. It was almost six in the morning when he finally reached the exact location he had been trying to reach, and immediately started seeking his TimeTwister.  
  
It was a somewhat difficult task seeing that the whole area was covered by rather tall grass that seemed to move every time he turned around, even though it was a windless day.  
  
~Magic grass,~ Harry thought.  
  
It was near seven o'clock and he still hadn't had a glimpse of his gold scope. Thinking of heading back and search for it later, he started walking towards the school when all of a sudden, the grass seemed to bend down, as if deciding it was time for him to find what he was looking for.  
  
Harry immediately saw the TimeTwister, grabbed it and stuffed it in his cloak's pocket. He turned around and made his way back up to the castle.  
  
Many students from all four houses were already eating breakfast but he decided it was safer to directly hide the TimeTwister in his room before eating.  
  
Unfortunately, halfway up the stairs, James found him.  
  
"Where were ya?" he asked, drowsiness imprinted on his face. "I almost got worried."  
  
"I needed a little walk," Harry said quickly. "I'll just bring your cloak back to the dorm, I'll meet you back-"  
  
"Nah, I'll take it, I've gotta go to a Quidditch meeting right now," James said, yawning as he quickly swished his cloak off Harry's shoulders, before he even had the chance to retrieve his TimeTwister.  
  
"Wait!" Harry exclaimed, seeing his young father walk away, unaware that there was an object in his right pocket.  
  
James turned around and looked at Harry, waiting for him to say something. But the Survivor didn't, remembering at the last minute that he didn't want anyone to see the TimeTwister and get the clue that he had come from the future.  
  
"Err . . . I'll come with you," Harry said hesitantly.  
  
Prongs smiled and turned around, Harry following him closely.  
  
"Have you ever played Quidditch?" James asked casually.  
  
"Yeah," Harry answered, his mind on the TimeTwister. "Seeker."  
  
"What kind of broom do you have?"  
  
"A Firebol-... euh, an old little thing," Harry said. "I don't even think it had a proper name."  
  
"That's odd," James said.  
  
Harry eyed the pocket in which his golden scope was and bit his tongue.  
  
~Please don't put your hand in the pocket, dad,~ he thought.  
  
"Someone's going to replace a chaser this year," James said unceremoniously. "I asked Sirius if he wanted to join but he wasn't very interested. I think it's going to be a young one, probably in second year that's going to do the job."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"What's up with you?" James asked, turning towards him. "You look . . . bothered."  
  
"N-nothing," Harry said, twisting his hands behind his back.  
  
Prongs tilted his head to the side and inspected him, just as Harry got an idea.  
  
"I'm cold, could you pass me your cloak?" he asked  
  
"Sure," James said, smiling as he took off his cover. "But damn, it's heavy. What did I put in there?"  
  
Harry saw him reach for the pocket but quickly put it on, stopping him from finding the object.  
  
"Oh no! I forgot about the astronomy report!" he invented quickly, walking backwards, away from James that still had his hand raised to look in the pocket. "Gotta go!"  
  
James didn't move for a second or two, surprised by his reaction.  
  
"Now that's a weird one," James said, turning around and walking towards the Quidditch field.  
  
Further away, Harry sighed, watching his father walk away. He turned around and proceeded walking towards the castle.  
  
~~~  
  
"Harry?" Sirius asked, seeing his friend run pass him, through the Griffindor common room and up the stairs to their dorm. "What the-?"  
  
He was about to follow him when he nearly bumped into Lily Evans who was carrying a pile of books.  
  
"Good morning, Evans," he said coldly, glaring at her the same way she was doing for him.  
  
"Good morning, Black," she said, her eyes narrowing.  
  
"Be careful," Sirius continued, smiling nastily. "I lost a couple of billywigs. You wouldn't want to take a flying lesson, now would you?"  
  
"Are you threatening me, Black?" she asked ferociously.  
  
"Of course not, Evans," he went on. "I'm just warning you because accidents happen easily with me."  
  
Lily sneered.  
  
"Yes, well one day you'll fall in you own trap and I hope you break a limb or two while doing so," she said, turning her back at him and walking away and so not seeing the large smile plastered on his face.  
  
Harry came rushing down the stairs and crashed into Padfoot as he was about to continue his way up. They tumbled down and landed at the end of the stairs, Sirius lying on his back, Harry right on top of him, his glasses placed crookedly on his nose and a lost look on his face. He stared at the blue eyes in front of him.  
  
"Hey there, Harry," he said, Harry's face being at a mere inch from his face. "Hum . . . I'm sure I'm very comfortable but it's just that you're squashing me."  
  
"I'm so sorry, Sirius," Harry said quickly, getting up, handing his hand to help him up.  
  
"Oh it's nothing," he quickly said. "Forget about it."  
  
"Hum . . . breakfast?" Harry asked.  
  
"Sure," Sirius said, rubbing the back of his head as he got up. "Hum . . . what were you doing?"  
  
"Doing?" Harry asked. "Nothing, nothing. Just bringing James' cloak back up."  
  
"What were you doing with it?" Sirius continued.  
  
"I went for a walk this morning, that's all," Harry said.  
  
Harry and Sirius walked down to the Great Hall and sat down next to Peter.  
  
"Hey, Harry," he said, giving him a shy smile. "Hi, Padfoot."  
  
"Hello, Peter," Harry said, trying not to sound antagonistic.  
  
Peter's smile widened and he kept on playing with the sausages in his plate.  
  
"Pancakes, Harry?" Sirius asked him, holding up a large plate.  
  
"Sure," he answered, starting to serve himself food.  
  
"Hey, could you help me with the potions homework, afterwards?" Peter asked Sirius anxiously. "I don't understand a thing. Boiled ashwinder eggs are used in what kind of potions and can be ate raw to heal what?"  
  
"Boiled ashwinder eggs are used in love potions and can cure for ague when eaten raw," Sirius simply said. "But don't you remember? I told you we were going to use boiled ashwinder eggs for valentine's day."  
  
"Oh, yeah," Peter answered, pretending to remember.  
  
Not too long afterwards, James arrived with the other Quidditch players and sat down.  
  
"Nothing new," Prongs said, seeing the enthusiastic look on Peter's face. "More training and tactics and blablabla."  
  
He served himself some food and started eating. Then Harry noticed that Moony was missing.  
  
"Where's Remus?" he asked, looking around the table.  
  
An awkward silence fell on them as James, Peter and Sirius looked at each other uneasily.  
  
"His mother's sick," James finally said. "He had to leave immediately to go see her. He'll be back tomorrow, around noon I think."  
  
Harry smiled interiorly. He had forgotten it was the full moon. And so Remus was at the Shrieking Shack. Harry caught himself wondering if transforming into a wolf was painful.  
  
"When is the next visit at Hogsmade?" he heard a boy sitting on Jame's left ask.  
  
"Next week," Prongs answered. "I can't wait to see Zonko's new stuff."  
  
"Hey, maybe we could give him a visit tonight," Sirius whispered. "I'm sure he'd let us buy then."  
  
"Good idea," James whispered back, smiling. "Hum . . . Harry? Listen, we'll go there all three of us alone tonight, okay? It's because there are bigger chances of us getting caught in Hogsmade and we don't want you to get punished because of us."  
  
"Yeah sure," Harry said, knowing that they were going to make a detour by the Shrieking Shack.  
  
"And don't stay up late because of us," Sirius continued. "We might take some time to get back."  
  
"Sure," Harry continued. "I need to get ahead in my homework, anyways."  
  
He noticed the Marauders smiling and grinned interiorly. They were sure he didn't know anything.  
  
"So what do we have today?" Sirius asked, yawning.  
  
"Wednesday . . ." Peter mumbled. "Charms and double herbology, then double transfiguration and double Defence Against the Dark Arts after lunch. Wednesdays are terrible this year."  
  
"Yeah, but Thursdays are a lot more relax," James commented, looking at Peter's timetable. "Potions, double crappy divination, lunch, charms, double care of Magical Creatures and a free period."  
  
"Well lets go," Sirius said, getting up from the table. "Twik awaits us."  
  
"I hate that teacher," Peter said sorrowfully.  
  
~~~  
  
Harry found that Charms class in 1977 was very similar to his classes with professor Flitwick in the future. In fact, Flitwick seemed to be related to Twik. They were most probably cousins.  
  
Herbology was amusing with a much younger professor Sprout. She was the same, except for her brown curly hair tied into a loose bun in the back of her head and her less plump weight.  
  
The Marauders stayed particularly quiet during lunch time, James looking at his watch every now and then.  
  
Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws was a pain in the ass. Professor McGonagall gave out a surprise test to see if the students had revised during the summer, like she had asked them to. Peter had nearly fainted when she said it.  
  
Harry and Peter were both sure to fail but James and Sirius was persuaded he was going to get a pretty good mark.  
  
~Of course you're going to pass, you're both animagus!~ Harry thought bitterly.  
  
Professor Cortaine kept a strong look on the Maruders in her class, making sure they weren't up to something. Though when she was about to write down something in her book, she realised she had one of Sirius' Augurey feathers, and so that earned him another fifty lines of 'I will not bring Augurey feathers in class'.  
  
After that, Harry lost the Marauders completely. He found out that they had asked for food in the kitchens and then had disappeared.  
  
He returned to the common room and pulled out his astronomy books and potions manual to start his homework. Time passed quickly and he had barely finished his map of the stars when dinner started. Not being too hungry, he stayed in the common room to work.  
  
No one bothered him and he had time to finish his strength potion report before eight. That done, he felt someone tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Lily smiling at him shyly.  
  
The common room was still empty and he hadn't heard her come back in.  
  
"Hi, Lily," he said, trying to sound casual, yet unable to forget that she was his mother.  
  
"Hey Harry," she said. "So . . . how are you doing?"  
  
"Not bad," Harry said, closing his books. "Just finishing potions homework."  
  
"Yeah, I finished that one yesterday," she said, playing with her hands. "It was pretty tuff, but I'm good at that. Want me to check yours?"  
  
"Okay," Harry said as she pulled back a chair and sat beside him.  
  
He watched her read his homework and note things on the side, a look of concentration on her face. Once she was finished, she turned to him and saw that he had been looking at her, which made her redden.  
  
"It's great, I'm sure you'll get at least 90," she said, getting up.  
  
"Thanks," Harry said, also red in the face because she had seen him looking at her.  
  
"Hum . . . I know it's a bit early to ask you," Lily said, trying not to look at Harry directly. "But . . . there's a Halloween dance at the end of October . . . and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."  
  
Harry stared at her with wide eyes, unable to say a word.  
  
"Err . . . No . . . well . . . I'll think about it," he said, but regretted it immediately seeing the look on her face. "It's . . . it's because I wasn't thinking on going, that's why."  
  
"Could you think of going . . . for me?" she asked. "It's going to be really fun. It always is."  
  
"I promise you I'll think about it," Harry said in a small voice.  
  
Lily smiled.  
  
"Thanks," she said. "Well . . . Bye."  
  
Harry watched her walk back up the stairs, not believing what was happening.  
  
~This is not supposed to happen,~ he thought.  
  
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^_^ mweheheh . . .  
  
Please review! 


	6. Chapter 6

After a long period of absence of updates, I am finally back!  
  
I think I need to clear out a few things   
  
c) I know it's coming around slowly, but this IS going to be a Harry/Sirius... there might be other pairings, but I'm much too hesitant to name anything yet...  
  
a) Harry is now in possession of the TimeTwister (I didn't know it would bring to confusion. Harry put the TimeTwister in James' cloak pocket and then James took the cloak before giving it back to Harry because he was supposedly cold. Harry brought it back up in the dorm.)  
  
b) YES! Other well known characters will appear! Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape are part of them, though Lucius is supposed to have been in his final year when the Marauders were in their first. I hope no one will mind that it's not the case in this story.   
  
Chapter 6:  
  
"The class is over," the professor said. "Pack up and head for lunch!"  
  
The whole classroom, previously as quiet as a tomb, became a ruckus of chairs, slamming books and uprising babble coming from each and every student. The divination teacher, professor Vernna, was packing up her papers and magically sending off erasers to clean the blackboard in back of her, ignoring the sixth graders that were leaving the room.  
  
Harry was packing his bag as quickly as possible, vaguely listening to Sirius talking with James about chocolate frog cards. He eyed the redhead gathering her things three tables in front of him and turned around, walking speedily towards the door.  
  
"Boy, you're in a hurry," said a soft voice in his right ear just as he was passing the doorframe.  
  
Harry turned his head and sighed nervously to the young werewolf walking soundlessly next to him. Remus seemed so much calmer compared to the week before the full moon and so much healthier too. He had returned to school saying that his mother's well-being was now fine. Harry didn't ask questions, feeling that the Marauders would open up and tell him his secret once he had completely gained their trust.  
  
"Yes, I guess you could say that," replied Harry, smiling. "Starving, really starving," he added, looking over his shoulder at the same redhead who was now chatting with her friends, her eyes circulating the room, most probably looking for him.  
  
"Hey, wait up!" chuckled James, catching up with them, Peter on his heels. "Trying to get rid of me, eh?"  
  
"Of course, James, of course," Moony answered, rolling his eyes.  
  
Harry was starting to feel completely at home in this new world, appreciating Remus and his father's presence, being with different teachers, but most of all, staying with Sirius. Somehow, he was starting to feel... different in his presence. Like his heart started making cartwheels in his chest. It was an odd feeling that he couldn't place yet.  
  
Suddenly, a current of air made by a student who was almost running towards the Great Hall flew passed them. A long hiss accompanied it.  
  
"That was our dear Snivellus," said James, pulling out his wand.  
  
"Prongs, not now," ordered Remus, suddenly very serious.  
  
James made a muffled sound and looked at Remus with what were unmistakably puppy dog eyes, which were hastily ignored by the werewolf. Harry was surprised to see that Moony did, in fact, have a certain control over his reckless father. Peter barged in, poking his mousy face between the two other Marauders just as James was placing his wand back into his pocket, eyeing the vague form of the Slytherin that was already turning the corner at the other end of the hallway. Harry kept on walking but felt that something was incorrect, like a hole in his chest or air missing in his lungs.  
  
"Where is Sirius?" unpredictably realised Harry.  
  
"Oh, he's not hungry, he's not coming," rumbled Pettigrew, the same little smile he always had plastered on his face wider than usual. "We'll see him after."  
  
"Ah... well..." said Harry, looking over his shoulder at the other end of the hallway where Sirius had obviously gone. "I'm not hungry either. I'll go find him and see you later."  
  
The reaction from the Marauders was not quite what he expected.  
  
"No!" shouted Peter, just as Remus stated that he had just told him that he was truly starving and that he should definitely come and take a bite with them to regain a little energy. His young father simply stared at him quizzically.  
  
Harry started feeling defensive as their requests to have him come to the Great Hall increased. Was everything going to become just like it was before? Everyone would stop him from seeing the only person he wanted to be with? Or were they trying to stop him from discovering something else, just like for Remus? Whatever it was, he wanted to be with Sirius. He didn't care about anything else.  
  
Without another word he simply turned around and started walking at a fast pace towards the other end of the corridor.  
  
"Stubborn, eh?" sighed Remus, watching Harry move farther and farther. "Just like you, when you think of it."  
  
James eyed the Prefect for a moment then looked back at the end of the hallway.  
  
It didn't take a genius to figure it out. After twenty minutes of searching, Harry was lost. The decorations and surroundings seemed so different than what he remembered it them be in the present!  
  
He kept searching for his godfather for a while and miraculously found him in a hall he was sure he had never seen before, nearly an hour after his transfiguration class had ended.  
  
Sirius was at the end of the hallway Harry had just arrived in, talking with two other individuals that he did not recognize. Squinting his eyes, he noticed by the insignia on their uniforms that alleged that they were both in Slytherin, and not in Griffindor. The first was a boy in his third or fourth year, and the second was a girl most probably in her second.  
  
The boy talking with the Marauder had an awful resemblance to Padfoot himself, having the same wild black hair, build and posture. The few differences were that his expression gave him a smug look, he wasn't as tall nor as good looking, even though there was a certain charm about him.  
  
The girl was very attractive, having black hair that reached her waist, beautiful eyes and particularly long eyelashes. There was an air of arrogance about her.  
  
She was the one who noticed Harry first, and pointed him out to the boy that accompanied her. He said something to Sirius, nodded his head before walking away, holding the girl by the hand and leaving Padfoot with a neutral look on his face.  
  
Sirius turned in Harry's direction and started walking, looking at the carpeted floor.  
  
"Who were they?" asked Harry, keeping up with him once he had passed him.  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes in annoyance and sighed.  
  
"No one, just no one," he muttered somewhat angrily, walking faster.  
  
"Come on, tell me," Harry went on.  
  
Padfoot stopped walking and turned towards him.  
  
"Why do you want to know?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"Just out of curiosity," replied Harry truthfully.  
  
Sirius sighed.  
  
"My brother," he simply said. "And my cousin," he added before starting to walk again.  
  
"Really? Wha-... but... that boy was a Slytherin!" Harry objected, finding it hard to believe. "That girl... that girl... your cousin?"  
  
"Regulus and Bellatrix are just like the rest of my family," Padfoot continued. "I'm the odd ball that was placed in Griffindor."  
  
Harry remembered Sirius's name having been erased from the tapestry back in his house in London... and hearing that his brother had become a Death Eater but had been killed when trying to back out. And of course... Bellatrix, Sirius's murderer.  
  
Harry's look saddened and the hale and hearty look he had regained during his stay in the past disappeared in an instant.  
  
"What is it?" Sirius asked, seeing the look on his friend's face.  
  
"Oh, nothing... nothing..." Harry mumbled. "Do... do you get along with your brother?"  
  
"Not that well but we still talk," he said. "Unlike my mother and I."  
  
"And... your cousin?"  
  
"I would prefer not talking about my family," Sirius said quickly. "In fact, I think I'd like to be alone a little bit. I need to think."  
  
Harry's eyes filled with misery. He wanted to stay, he wanted to make him feel he could count on him, that he was there for him and for him only. He didn't want to leave him. In fact, every time Sirius was out of his sight, he felt like he was risking losing him forever again, and he knew he couldn't go on without him. He knew it was strange, and he couldn't quite define the feeling he felt when he was gone, but being him was the only thing that mattered.  
  
"...Okay... but at least know that I'm there for you," he said, smiling weakly. "In fact, I only came here for you... I had forgotten James and Moony and mom would be here..."  
  
"What?" Sirius asked, frowning as he turned to face him completely.  
  
"What, what?" Harry asked, confused.  
  
"You came here for me, you forgot James, Moony and your mom were here?"  
  
Harry felt like hitting himself.  
  
How can I be so stupid? he thought. I'm going to reveal everything if I go on like this!  
  
"Nothing, nothing, don't try to understand," Harry said, laughing uncomfortably. "I sometimes say things... weird things that aren't mean to be understood..."  
  
He looked up and saw that Sirius was staring at him curiously with his dark blue eyes, half a smile on his face. He couldn't help but think that he looked more than great like that. Harry looked down, reddening.  
  
"Well, I'll leave you alone then," he said, quickly walking away. "But don't forget that I'm here if... you need anything."  
  
What an adorable fellow, Sirius thought once he had disappeared.  
  
Harry kept on walking, not paying attention to where he was going, and accidentally bumped into a student.  
  
"Watch where you're going!" the student immediately barked in a very cold manner.  
  
Harry looked up and saw that he had bumped right into another person he knew.  
  
Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"Yeah, watch it!" a girl hanging on to Lucius' arm said, giggling.  
  
Harry's eyes widened to an even greater extent recognizing Draco's mother, Narcissa. She was pretty, just like her younger sister, Bellatrix. Well, prettier than the last time he had seen her, fifteen years in the future, when she was surrounded by muggle borns at the Quidditch World Cup. He looked up at Lucius, still unable to say a word to the future Death Eater.  
  
"Well?" he said coldly.  
  
"S-sorry," Harry stuttered.  
  
"Griffindor," he heard Narcissa whisper to her future husband.  
  
Lucius pouted in displeasure, brushing his robes as if Harry had dirtied them.  
  
Harry noticed the prefect badge pinned to his robes.  
  
"You're the new student, aren't you not? The other Potter?" Narcissa asked.  
  
"Euh... yeah," Harry said uneasily.  
  
Lucius made a sound close to a snort and passed by him, dragging Narcissa along and pushing Harry out of his way.  
  
"Well than be careful, Potter," Lucius hissed. "You don't know what kind of people you might bump into."  
  
Damn right, Harry thought.  
  
He sighed heavily and turned around, unconscious that Lucius' eyes were still following him, an interested smirk on his face. He turned away and kept on walking, Narcissa still hanging on to his arm.  
  
The rest of the day passed slowly for Harry. He joined the other Marauders at the library before going to a Charms class. Sirius was already sitting in a seat when they entered and he smiled at Harry. After that class were two periods of Care of Magical Creatures where they simply observed the Salamanders they had fed the week before. Harry kept quiet during suppertime while Sirius was trying to convince James that they could do a favour to a portrait for it to go around Hogwarts and gather up all the gossip it could find.  
  
Incredibly enough, James and Peter were sitting in the Griffindor common room, doing their homework under Remus' supervision. Harry sat down next to them.  
  
"Three days 'till we go at Hogsmeade," James muttered while scribbling another line on his potion's essay.  
  
"We'll be able to go at Zonko's," Peter continued, copying parts of James' thesis.  
  
Harry eyed the mousy looking boy for a moment. He was starting to accept Peter as he was, learning who he was, trying not to think about him selling his parents out to Voldemort and accusing Sirius. He was, after all, a very different person in the past. Well... he at least seemed to be.  
  
"A week 'till our first Quidditch match," added Remus, looking up from the book he was reading.  
  
"Its true!" exclaimed Harry. "James... you're seeker!"  
  
"The best seeker Hogwarts has ever seen!" Peter chipped happily.  
  
"Against who is the match?" asked Harry.  
  
"Ravenclaws. The strongest team... after us, of course," answered James proudly.  
  
"Well the Slytherins have a very strong attack, they are also exceptionally good," Peter alleged.  
  
"Harry, would you like to go for a walk with me?"  
  
Harry looked up from his homework and saw Sirius staring at him.  
  
"Me?" he asked, surprised.  
  
"Yes, you!" Sirius laughed.  
  
Harry jumped to his feet and followed Sirius out of the portrait hole, amazingly cheerful. A whole walk with Sirius. Nothing could have been more welcomed.  
  
Slash is coming... just a little later... give it time... 


End file.
